Spring is now in full bloom here in southern California. My 4yo daughter most recently took to finding and playing with the baby lizards that seem to be especially abundant in our backyard this spring. a few days ago my daughter came inside and said she was playing with the lizard with no legs until it got mad at her. I went outside to see what she was talking about and saw either a baby or juvenile gopher snake [1/4 inch (pencil sized) diameter and about 10 inches long]. I put it in a terrarium with aspen shavings and fresh water. It readily ate frozen pinkies so long as I cut them up into smaller manageable pieces. Daughter loves to watch the snake and will sit beside the terrarium for hours just watching it. She especially liked to watch it unhinge it’s jaw and eat the pinkie mice pieces. Trouble is I would like to tame it for handling but this snake will try to strike immediately upon putting my hand inside. I picked it up a few times and held it, but it just turns and strikes, even while I’m holding it. I’m told it should not hurt, but the idea of being bitten by a snake scares me. Are these snakes prone to be more aggressive when young then mellow with age? Any further advice to modify it’s temperament? I read somewhere to just let it bite until the snake realizes that I am still going to hold it anyway, and am not intent to hurt it. The idea of "just let it bite me" still freaks me out. It has an especially convincing display. It acts exactly like a rattle snake, minus the rattles of course. It doesn’t head butt, it leaves it’s mouth wide open intent to "BITE."

It is normal for baby snakes to be very defensive. After all they are at the bottom of the food chain. Make sure it has a couple of hides to feel secure. No need to let it bite you. Let it get some size on and then maybe every few days gently handle it (with gloves on) as they do have tiny little sharp teeth.

Concerning your little daughter, I’d maybe want to supervise her herps adventures in the yard, as she may encounter an actual rattle snake, and that would not be good.